Researchers at MIT have developed a robot with an extendable appendage that can twist and turn in various configurations, yet remains rigid enough to support heavy loads. The robot's design is inspired by the way plants grow, allowing it to adapt to different tasks and environments.
Researchers at MIT have found that coating nanoparticles with right-handed molecules of the amino acid cysteine can improve their ability to avoid being destroyed by enzymes in the body. This approach also allows them to enter cancer cells more efficiently, making it a promising method for developing more effective drug carriers.
Researchers have developed a new model to help autonomous vehicles navigate intersections with obstructed views, reducing the risk of collisions. The model estimates risks based on factors like sensor noise, driver awareness, and occlusions.
Researchers successfully suppressed quantum tunneling in ammonia molecules by applying a strong electric field, demonstrating the phenomenon's 'spookiness'. The study uses this approach to explore molecular dynamics and potentially exploit it with other molecules.
Researchers create method that enables robots to use environmental clues to plan routes, reducing time spent exploring properties and eliminating the need for maps of specific residences. The approach leverages pre-existing algorithms to generate a new map of the environment as the robot moves around, represented as semantic clues.
A new adhesive developed by MIT engineers can tightly bind tissues such as lungs and intestines within five seconds. The double-sided tape can also be used to attach implantable medical devices to tissues, offering a promising alternative to surgical sutures.
A new system designed by MIT and Chilean researchers uses radiative cooling with an aerogel insulation layer to cool objects by up to 23 degrees Fahrenheit, eliminating the need for electricity. The device blocks incoming sunlight while allowing infrared heat to radiate away into space, achieving significant cooling powers.
Researchers at MIT and University of Illinois develop method to control balance in two-legged, teleoperated robot. The approach enables humanoid robots to exert force or push against something without falling, paving the way for high-impact tasks in challenging environments.
A new MIT system uses computer-vision techniques to detect and classify subtle changes in shadows on the ground, enabling autonomous vehicles to quickly avoid collisions with other objects. The system outperforms traditional LiDAR technology by more than half a second in real-world scenarios.
Researchers at MIT have developed a new synthesis method to create polymers that can break down more readily in the body and environment. By adding a novel type of building block, they were able to create polymers with easier degradability under biologically relevant conditions.
A new system can capture carbon dioxide from the air at any concentration level, including 400 parts per million, and release it into a carrier stream. This technology has significant implications for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and could eliminate the need for fossil fuels in applications such as soft-drink bottling plants.
Researchers simulated the critical reheating period at the end of cosmic inflation, which may have bridged the gap between inflation and the Big Bang. The simulations suggest that quantum effects could have redistributed energy quickly, producing conditions necessary for the start of the Big Bang.
Researchers at MIT have engineered signaling proteins that can interact with specific partners without interfering with cells' existing pathways. This allows for the creation of artificial circuits for applications such as disease diagnosis and cancer treatment.
Researchers have identified two brain circuits that help tune out distracting sensory information and found a way to reverse noise hypersensitivity in mice by boosting the activity of those circuits. Targeting both circuits is more effective than treating either one alone, suggesting a new approach to treating neurological disorders.
Researchers at MIT have compiled a comprehensive dataset of robotic pushing dynamics, capturing the behavior of hundreds of different objects. This dataset, called Omnipush, enables robots to learn fundamental object manipulation tasks, such as reorienting and inspecting objects, by training on a diverse range of pushing scenarios.
Researchers found that even the tallest ice cliffs will support their own weight rather than collapsing catastrophically, with slower ice shelf removal leading to slow sloughing away. This challenges previous predictions of rapid sea-level rise from Antarctica.
Researchers found that cells on a tumor's periphery are softer and more likely to invade surrounding tissues. This softness enables the cells to spread through the body's vasculature, forming 'invasive tips' that break away from the tumor.
Researchers at MIT have created an algorithm that significantly speeds up the planning process required for robots to adjust their grasp on objects. The new approach uses motion cones to efficiently calculate feasible pushes and reposition objects in less than a second, compared to traditional algorithms that take over 500 seconds.
Researchers have developed a new kind of robotics that can assemble large structures from identical subunits using simple robotic systems. The system works by having the robot work together with the structure, adjusting its position as it adds each piece, allowing for efficient and precise assembly.
MIT researchers create a visual deprojection model that recovers valuable data lost from images and video by learning patterns in low-dimensional projections. The model has successfully recreated video frames showing people walking and recovered motion-blurred images, with potential applications in medical imaging.
Researchers have successfully used a massive galaxy cluster as an X-ray magnifying glass to detect a tiny dwarf galaxy in its first, high-energy stages of star formation. The technique allows for the zooming in on extreme, distant X-ray-emitting phenomena and could be used to age-date different parts of a galaxy.
A new study from MIT reveals that glycans in mucus can disarm opportunistic pathogens and prevent infections. The researchers found that these sugar molecules can regulate the behavior of microbes, preventing them from communicating with each other and forming infectious biofilms.
A team of researchers at MIT has developed an 'electroadhesive' stamp that can pick up and place down objects as small as 20 nanometers wide. The stamp uses a sparse forest of ceramic-coated carbon nanotubes to create temporary electrical attraction, allowing it to grasp microscopic structures with precise control.
Researchers have developed a fluorescent probe that can image electrical activity in multiple neurons simultaneously, enabling the visualization of brain circuits and their relation to behavior. This technique uses a voltage-sensing molecule to record electrical activity on a millisecond timescale, providing more informative measuremen...
Researchers create and observe a single phonon in diamond at room temperature, bringing quantum behavior closer to everyday life. This breakthrough technique can now be used to probe other materials for quantum vibrations, potentially leading to advancements in solar cells and quantum computing.
A new history of Japan's intelligence efforts, right up to the present, highlights the country's recent revival of its intelligence operations. The book attributes this shift to a combination of strategic environment changes, technological innovations, and intelligence failures.
Researchers developed a new oral delivery device that can carry insulin and other protein drugs, protecting them from the acidic environment of the stomach. The capsule contains microneedles that attach to the intestinal wall and release the drug for uptake into the bloodstream, enabling fast and pain-free delivery.
Researchers at MIT have developed a mathematical approach to understanding zeolites, revealing why only a small subset has been discovered or made. The graph-based model predicts which pairs of zeolite types can be transformed from one to the other, opening doors for new pathways in production and potential discoveries of novel materials.
MIT researchers developed engineered bacteriophages that can kill different strains of E. coli by making targeted mutations in a viral protein. The new approach creates a large number of phage variants and tests them against resistant strains, showing promise for overcoming multidrug resistance.
Researchers simulated galaxy formation in a 'fuzzy' universe, where dark matter is ultralight and quantum-waves-like. The simulation suggests galaxies would form in extended filaments with striated patterns, potentially illuminating the type of dark matter present today.
A recent study by MIT professors found a strong correlation between students' grades and their sleep habits, with consistent sleep quality playing a crucial role. The study discovered that the timing of bedtime also affects performance, with going to bed after 2 a.m. leading to poorer grades regardless of total sleep hours.
Researchers designed a new structural design method that can transform flat layers into predetermined shapes in response to ambient temperature changes. The new structures can achieve complex configurations, such as transforming into a human face shape.
MIT researchers have developed a delivery system that makes RNA vaccines more powerful, triggering efficient protein production and boosting immune response. The nanoparticles also activate an immune signaling pathway, provoking T cells to attack cancer cells and infectious agents.
A new method uses neutron beams to establish facts about warheads, physically encrypting information to prevent disclosure of military secrets. The system balances verification with secrecy for countries involved in arms reduction pacts.
A new algorithm developed by MIT student Trevor Henderson seamlessly blends different audio signals in real-time, recreating the portamento effect. The algorithm uses optimal transport to map pitches from one signal to another, producing a smooth transition without volume fading.
Researchers at MIT have developed a rapid imaging method to visualize hundreds of synaptic proteins at high resolution. By analyzing protein levels in thousands of neurons, they discovered groups of proteins that tend to associate with each other more often than others, shedding light on synapse subtypes and their functions.
MIT researchers analyzed 380,000 government service requests to find a way for cities to preserve citizen privacy while improving efficiency. They identified model cities that maximized both privacy and efficiency, suggesting similar methodologies for worldwide evaluation of government services.
A new study by MIT researchers suggests that solar panels with lifetimes as short as 10 years can make economic sense for grid-scale installations. The team analyzed three types of solar installations and found that the levelized cost of electricity, not just the panel's lifetime, determines economic viability.
A study by researchers from MIT and Max Planck Institute found that people living in a remote Bolivian rainforest tend not to perceive similarities between notes played at different registers, unlike Westerners. The brain's ability to detect pitch similarity appears to be acquired through exposure to music in octave-based systems.
A field experiment found that positive, nonenforcement contact between police and residents improved attitudes towards the police. The study's findings suggest that community-oriented policing can increase public trust and police legitimacy, especially among minority communities.
Researchers have developed a new tool to detect non-Gaussian noise affecting qubits, which can cause decoherence and destroy their fragile quantum state. By analyzing the noise patterns, scientists hope to gain insights into microscopic mechanisms and develop more effective methods to protect qubits from specific types of noise.
Researchers at MIT developed a material that is 10 times blacker than anything reported previously, using vertically aligned carbon nanotubes. The new coating absorbs greater than 99.995% of incoming light from any angle, making it the blackest material on record.
Physicists detected the ringing of a newborn black hole for the first time, confirming Einstein's theory and the idea that black holes have no 'hair.' The findings support the notion that black holes are bald-faced giants with no extraneous properties.
Researchers at MIT and elsewhere discovered a unique ancient technology for making parchment, which used a mixture of salts found in evaporites. This process helped preserve the Temple Scroll's bright white surface and contributed to its state of preservation.
Researchers have directly observed the non-Abelian Aharonov-Bohm Effect, a predicted exotic phenomenon involving optical waves and synthetic magnetic fields. The finding may offer a step toward fault-tolerant quantum computers.
Researchers found that 'information gerrymandering' can bias election outcomes, with one party winning up to 60% of the time in simulated elections. The study used experiments involving 2,520 participants and identified actual information networks that show similar patterns.
A digital program created by MIT researchers in collaboration with Keheala helped 4% of tuberculosis patients complete their treatment, compared to 13% in a control group. The interactive platform used behavioral-science insights and daily messages to motivate patients and reduce nonadherence.
A new study by MIT linguist Shigeru Miyagawa and Esther Clarke reveals that Old World monkeys can combine two items in language sequences, but this ability stops at two. Unlike humans, who can recombine terms to create an infinite variety of sequences, the monkeys' language lacks the capacity for greater complexity.
A comprehensive catalogue of human digestive tract bacteria has been identified, revealing novel interactions and associations between bacterial strains and health outcomes. The study provides a foundation for future research into the mechanisms underlying microbiome dynamics and their impact on human health.
A new study reveals that the deaths of prominent life scientists are followed by an increase in highly cited research by newcomers, with papers by these researchers receiving more citations than those of established scientists.